I can remember being in grade 5 and having a fantastic teacher. She was very technological and we LOVED IT! She even made a class website for us and we had a class mascot. We were called the 5B Chameleons. I can still remember that off the top of my head, so clearly it made quite an impact on me! I remember being so excited to go home and check the website to see if she updated pictures or to read what she would type about our school day.
I think that having a class blog would cause students to build as a community and connect to the class outside of school at home. Obviously I would have to get the parents to sign consent to have photos online, or just not put the childrens' faces online. In today's world, most parents and even lots of kids are always "connect" to technology. I think parents would appreciate this because they could check the blog whenever they have time and check up on what their child is doing in school. I strongly agree with keeping communication with the parents so they know what is going on in their child's life. Blogging would be a great way to do that.
After you've read this blog I have a few questions for you to comment to me about:
1) Did you create a blog in your internship? If not, do you wish you could go back in time and make one with your class?
2) Would you create a blog in your classroom this fall?
3) What are the pros and cons of having a classroom blog that come to mind?
Hey Alannah,
ReplyDeleteGreat post and questions!
1) I didn't have a blog during my internship as I wasn't comfortable enough with the technology (I never had a blog before this class). I think because I hadn't had any experience and was very busy with internship itself I wouldn't been able to make a blog that was meaningful for my internship classroom- so I wouldn't probably wouldn't have made a blog even if I did internship again.
2) Yes I will! Now that I have gained a lot of exeperince and knowledege using blogs, developed a great community for support and have some terrfic examples of how to use blooging in a classroom (especially my mentor), I feel like I am much more prepared to take this challenge on.
3) Wow, a lot. Pros: As you said, it engages kids, it shows off their learning to a wide audience, and there is a chance to connect to other. Cons: It can be a lot of extra work for the teacher (especially when you are first learning how to use it).
Thanks for sharing- I'm looking forward to reading other's answers!
Hi Alannah, thanks for this post. I totally agree with what you have said in your post.
ReplyDelete1) I also did not have a blog during internship. It was my goal to maintain my personal blog during internship about things that were going on in the classroom; however, that simply didn't happen with everything else going on. However, our class did use a program called Edmodo where parents and students joined the page and we as the teachers could post on their. This was really similar to a Facebook page except much more secure.
If I could go back and do it again I probably would not have a blog simply because we already had a way to share about our day with parents and students and I think adding a blog into the mix would have been too much. That being said, I will definitely be creating a class blog in my own classroom. Through my mentorship I have learned some great things that a teacher can do with a classroom blog.
2) I guess I already answered this in (1)
3) Some of the pros if blogging would definitely be communication with parents and students as well as other members of your PLN. Furthermore, it allows a paperless form of communication and also assessment if you choose to use it for that. My mentor's classroom uses their blogs for tons of writing assignments. I also think that a blog allows for collaboration among students outside of the classroom via the blog. Some cons of a classroom blog might be (as Sam said) a lot of extra work for the teacher, issues with privacy (as you have mentioned), and lack of technology availability. During my internship, there were a few families who did not have access to the internet in their homes and therefore a classroom blog would not necessarily be an effective communication tool for all families.
Thanks for this post!
Linds
Wow thanks for the comments Sam and Lindsay!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, Sam, that it can be a lot of extra work!! I like the pros you said too! It can conned them through the world of technology - a world that we now live in and will continue to immerse more into technology as time goes on I believe.
Lindsay, I've never heard of that program called Edmodo! I'll have to look into it! I agree with you that if you're using this program there probably isn't a point in also making a blog! I like what you said about paperless communication. I can remember in my education in elementary school we were ALWAYS being sent home coloured notes almost daily and in my internship everything is through email! We probably only sent home 5 notes in all four months of internship!
Thanks for commenting ladies, I appreciate it :)